This was both of our first times to Zion National Park. We had heard great things about the awe inspiring red rocks that shoot up out of the ground thousands of feet. This place is special for a lot of people, which may be evident by the religious names given to many of the parks features. From the East/West Temple points to the naming of the popular Angels Landing hike, they all hint at a deeper religious meaning surrounding the land. The park was originally named Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909, which turned out to be difficult for many people to pronounce. About 10 years later the name was changed to Zion, a Mormon term, when it was adopted into the in newly ordained National Parks Service in order to make the park's name "appeal to an ethnocentric audience."^[1]

Although Zion's current name originates from Mormon settlers in the region during the mid 19th century, there is evidence of Native American presence in the area dating back to nearly 8,000 years ago. The first settlers were a bit more nomadic in that they would hunt and collect seeds from the region and it wasn't until about 2,000 years ago that the natives developed a more sedentary lifestyle and settled down to stay. The early European explorers came to the area towards the beginning of the 19th century, however it wasn't until the early 1900's that the beauty of Zion became public knowledge. Frederick S. Dellenbaugh revealed his famous paintings of Zion's incredulous red wall canyons at the St. Louis World fair in 1904. People didn't believe the vibrant colors the Zion's valley that Dellenbaugh portrayed in his paintings. It is widely accepted that his work led President Taft to proclaim the territory as a National Monument. Even today there is a consistent effort to protect and maintain the land within the park. In 2009, President Obama added 124,406 acres^[1] of the region as protected wilderness.